Just doing this wonderful thing called life. Journies, Love & Marriage

Adding Value to Others

It was years ago that I had heard the phrase “Adding Value to People” which is something John Maxwell feels very strongly about! If you haven’t heard of John Maxwell he is a leadership guru that is all about focusing on the development of others. I’ve taken several of his courses and have learned a lot about his kind heart passion for others.

*The following is my interpretation of Adding Value*

When I come into contact with someone I can either make them feel really positive about themselves or make them feel badly. I can carry out my own agenda or seek to know them as a person. So everyday and every person we seek we have choices: are we going to make them feel good about themselves, make them feel indifferent, or make them leave with a bad taste in their mouth.

I want to share with you the first 7 of his 15 ways to add value to people. My explanation is based on his book but more how I see it in my own life. You can practice this on your friends, family, spouse, coworkers, and children:

1) Be Grateful: when someone does something nice, let it affect your heart and feelings. I have to remind myself not to just feel grateful but to express it with words and actions.

2) Put People First: it’s so easy for me to let tasks or other distractions make me forget to return a text or phone call. I don’t want to be attached to my phone always, but I need to be more consistent!

3) Don’t let Stuff Own You: my husband and I have a saying, “it’s just stuff”. We take care of our stuff but are never upset when something gets broken.

4) Don’t let People Own You: it’s easy for me to let people’s opinions own me, I want to have good relationships but it is important to have healthy boundaries.

5) Define Success by Sowing not Reaping: it’s not about what you get in return, it’s what you give. I want people to feel good after interacting with me.

6) Focus on Self Development, Not Self Fulfillment: Grow, read, and talk to awesome people. Everybody has different experiences and each person has some wisdom and perspective offer you.

7) Keep Growing and Keep Giving: Never stop learning (60% of university grads never read a book after graduation). Be generous with your time, emotions, and finances.

I learned so much from these principles in how I want to live and treat others. How I make others feel about themselves should always be on the forefront of my mind! Always be loving, always be growing, and always value the opinions of others!

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Gwendolyn has lived in Winnipeg, Canada for the past seven years. She is married to the love of her life Rob who also is co producer and editor of GFiola blog. Their lifelong goal is to relate and inspire others through the sharing of their own experiences.
They love their cozy home, watching stand up comics, and have a lovely little pup Charlie!